Two by Two
by jenwin23
Summary: Set after S01E08 - Day Trip: After Raven restores communication with the Ark, The 100 are anticipating the arrival of drop ships and help surviving winter, but the Ark has different plans that leave Clarke, Bellamy and the rest scrambling to figure out how to stay alive and defy the Ark without dying.
1. Chapter 1

**Two by Two**

_Set after S01E08 - Day Trip_

_Raven has restored communication with the Ark. Finn is healing, Bellamy and Clark have made the trip to the FEMA bunker in Washington DC. The kids on the ground are able to talk briefly with their parents, while news of the bombing on the Ark sends shockwaves through camp (despite Jaha's instructions for Clarke to keep the news quiet). Clarke and Raven are the only two who have spoken to the Ark Council over the radio, supplying them with information on ground conditions._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

-The 100-

Clarke scratched at the skin she could reach around her wristband, the metal transmitter an annoyance that most of the camp had gotten used to since they'd crash landed on the ground in what had formerly been Virginia, part of the United States, believed to be one of the countries to strike first firing nuclear weapons at several of their enemies military bases in the early days of the war that had ended life on earth- at least life as anyone had known it.

She listened as one of the Ark Councilmembers droned on about their ideas for protecting the Ark population from the Grounders once they landed. Clarke tried to listen, tried to care, but they were talking about trained guards, guns, and alarms, things The 100 didn't have much or any of. "I think you'll find that conditions on the ground are not as easily controlled as the ones in space, Councilor," Clarke said briskly, her ability to feign politeness a mere memory. "What works on the Ark won't work here."

There was silence, then Jaha spoke in a calm reasoned tone. "We thank you for your input, Clarke, but-"

"But you've been on the ground for three weeks," the councilor that had been speaking originally said condescendingly, "you are hardly an expert on organizing a society, while we have generations of experience. I think we know what we're doing."

Clarke gritted her teeth together but managed to keep her mouth shut. Raven walked past and offered Clarke a sympathetic look.

"I think that is all for today, thank you for your time," Jaha said regally, dismissing the council, short one member since Abby had been evicted, with Diana taking her place, before Diana attempted a coup and ended up taking the only drop ship ready for departure with a band of her fellow conspirators. "Clarke, if you will remain for a few minutes more."

He framed it like a question, but Clarke knew a command when she heard one. She saw her mother come into the council chambers, passing behind Jaha before appearing on camera sitting beside him in her old seat.

"Clarke," Abby breathed, her eyes soaking in the sight of her child. "How are you?"

"No medical emergencies to report," Clarke said in wooden tones.

"Clarke," Jaha said in a gentle tone, "I know you're upset with your mother and I over what happened, but having just lost my son, let me advise you not to let old misunderstandings get between you and your mother. You're family."

Clarke stared at the camera wanting nothing more than to walk away before she started screaming at them. Family? What did they know about family? They'd killed her father for wanting to tell the truth, sentenced her to solitary confinement and would have floated her, but instead had sent her (and Jaha's own son) to Earth to die. Her chest moved up and down rapidly as her breathing grew erratic with emotion, but she forced herself to speak calmly. "If we have more to discuss, I'd suggest we get to it. I have patients to treat and the batteries for the radio don't store much power."

Abby looked heartbroken and Raven frowned at Clarke behind her back, wondering what it was that had made Clarke so angry at her mother. From Raven's perspective, Abby was pretty awesome as a person and a mom.

"Perhaps tomorrow," Jaha intoned lightly, placing his hand on Abby's and squeezing it lightly. "Despite the council's opposition, I thought it best to inform you that the soonest we will send another drop ship will be April."

Her shock at his decree sent the tension rushing out of Clarke's jaw nearly sending her chin to the ground. "What? That's six months!" Jaha said something, but Clarke didn't hear it, her mind racing as she tabulated the additional supplies they'd been counting on from the Ark to help them get through winter. "You said two months, which is one month from now."

"We recalculated."

"You-" she started to say in incredulous anger.

"Arriving in winter is not ideal. In the spring food will be plentiful and we will have six months to prepare for our first winter on the ground," Jaha said confidently.

"And if we all starve or freeze to death it's no skin off your backs, right? And if you have to cull hundreds more people? I guess that's not big deal to you either," she said bitterly.

"Difficult decisions have to be made, Clarke. As the leader of The 100, I'm sure you've already discovered that."

"I'm not-"

"We have decided, and now you know. If you don't wish to speak to your mother, then perhaps now is a good time to end this communication."

Clarke stared at the blank screen for several minutes, her mind racing.

"Clarke," Raven said softly, drawing the blonde's gaze.

"Can you believe them?" Clarke sputtered.

"I don't think the situation is exactly what you think it is," Raven said.

"Don't tell me you agree with them. They're sentencing hundreds of people to death."

"Probably closer to a thousand," Raven said matter-of-factly. "They're aren't enough drop ships for all of them." Once again Clarke felt like her brain had shorted out and her chin had become unhinged from her jaw. "Each drop ship is a slightly different design, but most can only hold about 150 people. Add in supplies and it's closer to a hundred. They lost one to the rebels, leaving them only six more ships."

"How do you know this?" Clarke asked roughly.

"When I was working on the pod with your mom, she talked a lot about what was going on. I listened," Raven said simply. "Whether they cull the population now or leave the extras to die on the Ark, the end is the same. Most of the people up there now are never going to set feet on the ground."

Clarke shook her head, not wanting to believe Raven's words, but knowing she must be right.

-The 100—

That night Clarke relayed the news to Bellamy, who while bitter, took the news much more in stride than she had.

"What do we do?" she asked, sitting on the guard post above the fence next to him as his shift came to an end.

"There's nothing we can do."

"I mean, do we tell them?" She gestured towards the kids surrounding the campfire, their smiles and laughter evidence of their high spirits, still under the impression that the Ark was coming down to help them.

"About the delay or the fact the most of their parents won't be coming?" Bellamy asked darkly.

Clarke shook her head, looking more lost than Bellamy had seen since they'd found Wells' dead body outside of camp.

He bumped his shoulder against hers lightly, drawing her attention and hopefully diverting her dark thoughts. "We tell them that there's a delay, that's all."

"But they'll know! They know that life support on the Ark is failing, that there's not enough air for all of them, they'll know what that means," she whispered furiously.

"You're giving them more credit-"

"Monty will know, Octavia will know, and lots of the others, they're not stupid!"

Bellamy raised one eyebrow, either at her yelling at him or her assertion of The 100's average intelligence. He held her gaze for a minute then nodded. "Then we tell them everything. Then we keep them busy preparing for winter, too busy to dwell on it."

Clarke frowned, but nodded her agreement.

-The 100—

Clarke had thought that the news about the drop ships and the additional culls that would happen on the Ark was the worst news possible. She'd been wrong.

"Clarke, this is a delicate subject, but we need to address it calmly and rationally," Jaha stated, his words putting her back up immediately. "Given that approximately only 500 of us will be coming to the ground in six months, and considering the necessary balancing of knowledge, experience and health, the Council has voted that The 100 begin repopulation efforts now."

Clarke sat silently, blinking stupidly at the camera, certain that she misunderstood or misheard.

"You have got to be joking," she said unevenly, a rush of adrenalin and fear making her jittery and anxious.

"Clarke, I understand your reluctance-"

"I don't think you do," she disagreed. The faces of The 100 flashed in her mind. Some were actual criminals- thieves, rapists, others had broken the Ark's rigid rules, making them unlikely to agree to such outlandish orders, and then there were the kids, six of them were 15 years or younger, including four girls.

Jaha continued as if she hadn't spoken "-but this is an order, not a suggestion," Chancellor Jaha said in a reasonable tone, making Clarke even more tense.

If the Council didn't even see that ordering teenagers who were barely surviving to breed was short sighted and beyond intrusive, then what hope did The 100 have of maintaining other basic freedoms that they had only recently experienced but would not give up willingly to the Ark, not now, and not in six months.

"We don't have to do what you say, we're here, we're free, your authority means nothing to us," Clarke said passionately, her normal level-headedness and calm thought process still in disarray from the idea of ordering 14 and 15 year old girls to get knocked up because the Ark ordered it, not to mention that Clarke was included in the order. "You sent us to die, if you think-"

"We sent you to live," Jaha interrupted. "It was your mother's plan to send The 100 to Earth," he said gently as if Clarke was still the girl he had known who respected authority and believed in her parents' judgment absolutely. But he was wrong. That girl had been replaced by another. Smarter, tougher, and not willing to let injustices pass unnoticed.

"You can't think that I, or anyone else down here with half a brain, would believe that? You sent us without even a simple med kit, no water, not even containers for water, no food, not even a day or two's worth, in case we couldn't access Mt. Weather- which we couldn't. You sent us to test the radiation, nothing more, and now you think you can just-"

"It's not a request, Clarke, it's an order," Jaha said regally, as if his authority alone was enough to justify what they were asking.

Clarke shook her head, denying the order even as her mind raced and her stomach heaved.

"The wristbands do more than monitor your vitals, they are equipped with poison. If you, or any of the others refuse to obey, you will die," Marcus Kane, the council member in charge of Ark security said without apology.

Clarke gasped at the violation, made worse by the fact that her mother had likely designed the wristbands and failed to inform Clarke to the danger. Clarke's expression was horrified as she remembered the first few days on the ground when Bellamy had encouraged the others to remove the shackle and cast off the Ark's authority. Clarke was suddenly thankful that the wristbands had proved so difficult to remove, only one boy managing to pry his off only to die suddenly. Now Clarke knew why.

"You haven't learned anything from human history have you? With the push of a button you would kill us for not doing your bidding?"

"We are striving for the survival of the human civilization, in the grand scheme of things one life is insignificant," Kane said.

"Unless it's your life, or your fathers, or your son's, or your friend's. Oh right, even then you don't care," Clarke said accusingly, shaking her head, fighting down the nausea in her stomach.

"We'll give you two days to inform the rest of The 100, after that we expect to see that you've acted on our orders," Jaha said.

"What does that mean?" Clarke asked cautiously even as the answer popped into her head. "The wristbands. They monitor our vitals. You'll watch us," she cried. "You're disgusting."

"We're doing what is necessary for -" Jaha said impatiently.

"You're raping us!"

"No," Abby said, finally joining the conversation. She'd been voted back onto the council in an emergency vote, despite a few council members' objections.

"You're ordering us to have sex, have babies against our will, what else would you call it?"

"Your chance to be pardoned," Jaha said blandly.

"You said we would be pardoned if we survived earth," Clarke said bitterly, shaking her head again, dread settling over her in a way even her father's death hadn't brought about. She was trapped. They all were.

Clarke heard her name being shouted and took the chance to end the conversation. "Something is happening, I have to go."

"Two days Clarke, don't test our patience."

Clarke paused. "I'm not in charge here, I don't have the ability to force anyone-"

"Convince them," Jaha said.

"It shouldn't be too hard," Kane interjected. "Life or death, your choice."

Clarke swallowed hard and flipped the switch to cut the connection.

-The 100-

Once the immediate crisis (a burned arm) had been dealt with, Clarke gathered Bellamy, Monty, Raven, and Finn on the top floor of the drop ship. As the last of them climbed through the hatch, Clark closed it and turned to look at them, her expression one of desperation.

"What is it? Just spit it out, Princess," Bellamy demanded.

"We need to disable the radio, make it look like an accident or malfunction," she rushed to speech.

"What? Why? I just got it working," Raven protested.

"Tomorrow we need to exhume the bodies, remove the wristbands, find out how to get them off safely. Monty, you were trying to figure out how to use them to communicate with the Ark. What did you lear-"

"Exhume the bodies?" Finn asked in horror.

"Clarke!" Bellamy shouted, silencing her. "What the hell happened?"

"They… The council has ordered us to pair up. To have babies," Clarke said her voice rough as she pushed the words out. "And if we don't, they'll kill us. The wristbands…" Her gaze met Bellamy's. "You were right, we are still their prisoners. They're never going to let us go. We'll never be free."

"We're free, Princess," Bellamy said gravely, stepping forward and taking hold of her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "They don't know it yet, and we're not free and clear, but we will be." He looked from Clarke to Finn and Raven, then Monty before his dark eyes landed on the shaken up blonde again. "Finish it."

Clarke told them repeating it and trying to tell them Jaha and Kane's exact words as much as possible.

"So they didn't assign pairs? How generous," Bellamy mocked.

"Will they really do it? Will they really pull the trigger?" Monty questioned, worry thick in his tone.

"They floated 320 people," Raven said, wondering if anyone she knew had been chosen for death. "They'll float more than twice that before they come down."

"They sent us to die, they won't have any problem in killing us off until we fall in line," Clarke said, meeting Bellamy's eyes.

"The Ark is about survival at any cost," Finn said. "Our lives only matter to them as long as we serve their purpose, our happiness and emotional well-being don't factor in at all." It was an oddly distopic opinion for someone so prone to overt optimism.

"They gave us two days," Clarke said bleakly.

"Don't back down now, Princess," Bellamy said in a tone meant to put her back up. "You brought us up here spouting off plans, so now that we know what those fuckers are up to, let's figure out our plan. No more communication with the Ark, no more orders. And we find out how to get the wristbands off."

"We can't kill the radio outright," Raven disagreed. "They could off all of you as punishment." Only she and Bellamy didn't have wristbands primed with poison. And while she'd come to respect him in the week she'd spent on the ground, in no way did she want it to be her and him against the grounders.

"Or just enough of us to get us to buckle under," Bellamy said, anger resonant in his voice. His sister had been locked up her whole life because the Ark wouldn't allow a second child under any circumstances, and now they were ordering her to breed or die?

"We fake it, pretend to go along with them," Clarke said, her voice steady now.

"What good will that do?" Bellamy questioned. "We need to get the wristbands off."

"It won't be easy, and it will take time," Monty said reasonably.

"Clarke's right, we buy time, work on the wristbands, then, when another storm comes," Raven said with a slight smile.

"We can use it as cover to disable the comms," Monty finished her thought, seeing Clarke and Raven nodding in agreement.

"Then the next question is how do we fake it?" Finn asked and the others smiled in a brief moment of levity as they all imagined a few ways to fool the vitals monitoring.

Ever serious, Clarke worked the problem through her mind, including her extensive medical knowledge. "Simple physical activity, running or jumping in place, will raise the heart rate, but if too many of us just do that-"

"It goes from looking like bad sex to insubordination," Bellamy said.

"Our best bet is masturbation," Clarke said, forcing herself to look around the group, meeting each of their eyes. "But we'll need partners to peak at approximately the same time."

Bellamy raised one eyebrow. "Who knew our Princess was so kinky and sneaky."

"This is serious Bellamy, have you considered that there are four girls here who aren't even 16 years old yet? What we're asking them to do?"

Bellamy cut a hard look at her. "Pretty hard to forget that my sister is one of those girls, she's barely 17, but age doesn't matter here. We're not doing what they say. We have a plan, now let's make sure we're ready to execute it."

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><p><em>Words <em>_3032_

_-This has been sitting around half written for a few months, and since updates to the Bellarke fics I'm following have slowed down, I felt the need for a new story. Please review if you like it…_


	2. Chapter 2

_Set after S01E08 - Day Trip_

_Raven has restored communication with the Ark. Finn is healing, Bellamy and Clark have made the trip to the FEMA bunker in Washington DC. The kids on the ground are able to talk briefly with their parents, while news of the bombing on the Ark sends shockwaves through camp (despite Jaha's instructions for Clarke to keep the news quiet). Clarke and Raven are the only two who have spoken to the Ark Council over the radio, supplying them with information on ground conditions. Assessing the situation on the ground and in space, Jaha and the council decide to remain in space until Spring (necessitating the culling of hundreds more people) and order The 100 to pair up and start repopulating the Earth. _

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

-The 100—

Telling the camp what was happening wasn't easy and for a moment it looked like they would turn on Clarke since she was the closest thing they had to the Ark Council. "That's enough," Bellamy called out in a guttural shout that demanded compliance. "Clarke is not your enemy, the Ark is. We need to focus on what we're going to do now. They think they're still in charge, but we know differently!"

"What can we do?"

"They'll kill us!"

"I can't have a baby here!"

"We've survived on the ground for nearly a month now. We've come together to accomplish things they never thought we would. Things even we doubted. But we're still here. We're still standing, and we will not bow down to the Ark now, or ever again!"

There were roars of approval, and Clarke expected Bellamy to lay out their plan, but he looked to her, and she realized he was letting her step forward. He was the resistance, she was the one with a plan. Together they would lead The 100 clear of the mess the Ark wanted to force on them.

"We're working on how to get the wristbands off," she said, her clear voice carrying easily. "Do not try to take them off yourselves, or you will be killed. Anyone with a background in engineering or mechanics should find Monty or Raven tomorrow. We need everyone here to pull together on this one."

She glanced at Bellamy who was standing a foot behind her, his arms akimbo, looking over the assembled teenagers. "We need to keep focused on preparing for winter, the Ark may kill us, or they may not, but freezing temperatures and starvation will. No one will be forced to have a baby they don't want. Not here, not on our guard. If you have questions you can come find me tomorrow-"

"Save your questions until tomorrow at campfire," Bellamy interrupted. "We'll answer whatever we can. Now, get to bed unless you have guard duty. We've got a lot to do in a short amount of time."

They'd begun building permanent structures, different types, based on available materials and as an experiment to see which lasted and which was warmest. Clarke had sketched the plans as described to her by anyone with any knowledge of building and primitive structures. Since Clarke would sketch between patients, she got plenty of feedback and ideas from kids who never would have approached her otherwise which lead to her taking the sketches to the campfire each night and sharing them.

In her opinion the best idea was to at least partially underground the structures, she had firsthand knowledge that the underground bunkers stayed warmer than the outside temperatures.

-The 100-

The next day, Clarke finished looking after her patients and went looking for Bellamy. Despite their assurances that no one would be forced to have a child they didn't want or pair up for any reason other than personal choice, fighting was already occurring. Clarke had treated three boys with contusions to the face and body, as well as bruised hands and split knuckles, including one of their best builders. After treating a girl with claw marks on her face and arms, and allowing a second girl to hide out in the med bay, Clarke had had enough.

"Miller," she called after not seeing Bellamy after a few minutes of looking. "Where's Bellamy?"

"Outside, he should be done in a bit. I'll tell him you're looking for him."

Clarke frowned. "Is he nearby?"

Miller nodded and approached Clarke, not wanting the whole camp to overhear. "At the graves."

She looked down. It had been her idea to study the wristbands that were on their dead. It was her idea to exhume the bodies, but the reality of it was difficult to accept. She nodded and headed outside. Of course Bellamy had taken the worst task onto himself.

As Clarke neared the graves, she saw that he had taken Wells' wristband off, but cut off the arms of the two kids who had died upon landing. The two who had followed Finn out of his seat.

They all had blood on their hands.

"You don't have to be here for this, Clarke," Bellamy grunted, reburying the two boys that neither of them had ever met.

"Neither do you, you could have gotten someone else to do it."

He cut a look at her and kept working, shoveling dirt over the bodies as she stood silently and watched. She wanted to ask about the others, but she didn't.

Three wristbands were enough to get started. If they needed more, they were there. Atom, Trina, Pascal, Roma, John, and Diggs. She'd barely know them, but Bellamy had. He'd considered Atom a friend, and she knew Roma had been seen on more than one occasion leaving Bellamy's tent.

Bellamy finished and stood upright, flexing his back. It was Fall, the mid afternoon sun still warm enough to be outside in just t-shirts, and Bellamy's was wet with sweat. Picking up a water container and taking a drink before dumping the rest over his head to cool down he turned to Clarke.

Pushing his wet hair back off his face the studied her. "You come out here for a reason, or did you just want to see me, Princess?" he asked, his expression questioning, but the seriousness of their situation didn't stop the gleam of knowing amusement in his eyes as she jerked her gaze back to his face.

Clarke looked him in the eye, pretending that she hadn't noticed the way his damp shirt stuck to his chest, though that was preferable to the fact that he was standing over two severed hands and a wristband he'd taken off her dead best friend.

"Yeah, did you not hear the shouts from inside the wall?"

"Miller can handle it, and I had other things on my mind."

"OK, granted, but they weren't normal fights, Bellamy," she said. Fights were common in the camp with teenage tempers and hormones running wild. "They were fighting over..." her hands fluttered uncomfortably, not sure what to call it.

"Breeding partners?" he asked, supplying the words as he bent over to wrap the newly reacquired wristbands in a dark piece of fabric.

"Let's just say partners, but yes," she agreed with a frown watching him hand off the neatly tied bundle to Drew as he passed on his foot patrol.

Bellamy scowled, thinking over the situation before announcing, "Time to make some new rules, Princess." He picked up his gun, slinging it over his shoulder and motioning for her to follow him into the forest.

Finding a dappled patch of sun and shade under a massive oak tree far enough from camp not to be overheard, but close enough to hear if anything happened, he sat against the tree. Bracing his back against the massive trunk, he immediately leaned forward and pulled off his damp shirt, spreading it out to dry next to him.

She stared at him. "Really?"

"You're welcome to take off your shirt too, Princess," he said with a smirk. "I have my faults but I fully support equal rights for women."

She shot him a sour look. "Oh, right. So you'd be supportive of Octavia-"

"Not a chance," he said quickly, making her smile.

Finally taking a seat next to him, but making sure there were a few inches separating them, Clarke looked out into the forest and wished she had paper and pencils with her. Time to draw for fun, for herself, had been nonexistent in the past week.

"The rules aren't going to be complicated. No fighting," she said.

"We can't ban fighting," Bellamy said dryly. "They're teenage delinquents, we take away their outlet and we'll end up with worse problems."

"Then what do you suggest, oh wise one?" When he didn't answer she turned her head to look at him, seeing that his eyes were closed, his face lifted to the sun. "Did you have freckles on the Ark?"

"What?"

"Freckles, did you have them on the Ark?"

"Some, why?"

"You have more now," she said, smiling at his look of discomfort. Usually Bellamy appeared to be supremely confident of his physical self. "They're... humanizing."

He arched one eyebrow, but let the subject drop. "Tonight at the campfire, we reiterate that there is no need to actually partner up, unless they want to. No girl will be forced to take a partner that she doesn't want," he said.

"Or guy," Clarke added, earning a dry amused look from Bellamy, which she ignored. "We need a way to make sure nobody is being pressured into anything. The girls get the final say in whatever arrangement they agree to. So there's no reason to fight," she asserted.

Bellamy sighed. "They're going to fight, Princess, the guys will work out who gets to approach the more desirable girls in camp among themselves, either with words or fists. You're not going to change that."

"So hypothetically two guys fight over a girl, she has to go with the winner? I don't think so," Clarke scoffed.

"I didn't say that," Bellamy said. "She's free to reject the winner and anyone else, and free to approach anyone she wants. If that guy is not the hypothetical winner," he parroted her word back at her, "he might get his ass beat, but he could still get the girl."

"No."

They argued for a few more minutes, until Bellamy agreed to stop attacks on anyone who had already partnered up. Deciding that they needed a list of partners, both shied away from the thought that the Ark had kept similar lists. "We can use the list to show the Council that we're taking it seriously," Clarke said, adding a benefit to the idea. "With a small population we'd need to track parentage, to avoid inbreeding."

"OK, then, we're set," Bellamy declared making moves to stand up.

"Not quite."

He groaned but sat back against the tree.

"What about people like Liza?"

"Liza can handle herself, I dare any guy to try to force her to do something she doesn't want."

"She's a lesbian, Bellamy. She won't want any guy. She's not going to comply with the Ark. And the younger girls..."

"This problem is already solved, Clarke. Mutual or simultaneous masturbation," he declared, shoving himself to his feet before reaching a hand down to her to help her up. Clarke hesitated for only a moment before putting her smaller hand in his.

-The 100—

That night at the campfire, Monty and Jasper surprised her with a small cup of flaming liquid. She looked from one grinning boy to the other, feeling a smile curve her own features, their sweet silliness a cure to her tiredness. "You made lamp fuel?" she guessed, causing several surrounding teens to laugh.

"It's your birthday, Princess," Bellamy said in amusement, "You're supposed to blow it out."

Clarke's eyebrows narrowed, looking around at Raven, Finn, Octavia and several of the others who were watching in anticipation. She hadn't told anyone when her birthday was, so she had no idea how they knew, she'd barely remembered herself that morning. "OK," she said slowly taking a deep breath.

Before she could blow out the flame (already knowing it wouldn't work, but willing to make a fool of herself if it gave the others some uncomplicated amusement), Octavia rushed at her. "No, you have to make a wish first."

Clarke hesitated, her eyes going to Finn briefly then to Bellamy. She was sure that wishing on a flaming candle (or alcoholic beverage) was about as foolproof as wishing on a shooting star (really an asteroid entering the Earth's atmosphere) or wishing on the flares they'd sent into the sky in a futile atempt to stop the Ark from killing 300 souls.

She smiled sadly and closed her eyes, making a wish for all of them to survive winter and outsmart the Ark. Opening them she took another deep breath and blew, rearing back as flames shot forward from the cup.

She laughed and the camp laughed with her until after three attempts they simply put the fire out by putting another cup over it then handing the now extinguished beverage to Clarke who looked unsure but gamely took a drink. A cheer went up and she sat back to watch as drinks were passed around.

Bellamy stepped up beside her and made the necessary announcements, declaring that the fighting was stupid and needed to stop, then stating the new rules in a no nonsense tone of voice. "No one has to pick a partner, we have a plan. But, if I have to intervene because someone can't handle rejection, you will wish the Ark had floated your ass in space."

-The 100-

A week later, Bellamy was listening in as Clarke reported on their 'progress.' He stayed out of sight from the camera that projected Clarke's image to the Ark, while Octavia sewed together some small rags into a long wrap for sprains and other injuries, and Raven worked on pulling some of the wiring in the drop ship walls.

Clarke gave her report matter-of-factly, relaying information about the weather, available food, and new dangers they'd discovered. She was about to sign off when Jaha dismissed the rest of the council except for Abby.

"Clarke, we need to talk."

"I have nothing more to say," the blonde girl declared.

"You haven't obeyed our orders."

Bellamy frowned, seeing Clarke's angry glare directed at the monitor.

"Honey," Abby said, her dark eyes full of worry and stress. "I know this is difficult-"

Clarke ignored her mother, keeping her eyes on the Chancellor. "No, I haven't. I've been busy, calming children's fears about the dangers of having children on a hostile planet without adequate medical care and promising them that we'll keep them safe , knowing that I'm lying through my teeth the whole time."

"Clarke," Abby tried again. "I know the circumstances aren't ideal, but a child is a blessing. Your father would have loved to -"

"Don't talk to me about him!" Clarke shouted, springing up from her seat, drawing attention from the other two girls present. "Don't you dare try to tell me that Dad would have loved his grandchild. You two killed him! You killed him, and you sentenced me to death and now you think you can make me believe that this isn't another form of servitude? A punishment?"

"I'm 17! I'm not in any way ready or willing to have a family yet," she yelled. "We're just kids, and every day here is a struggle! Everything is dangerous! We're barely getting enough to eat and you don't even care that pregnancies mean we will need more food but will have less people to gather it! You have no idea. None. And I'm done talking to you."

She slammed her hand against the comms unit, cutting the feed.

Bellamy regarded Clarke's angry face carefully, waiting until she'd managed to unclench her fists and calm her breathing. "Clarke, you have to comply with their orders."

"No, we need to know-"

"Know what? If they'll push the button and kill one of us for not doing as commanded?" Octavia scoffed.

"Yes, it could just be an empty threat," Clarke said weakly, clearly not believing her own words.

"It could, though I doubt it. And you are not the person to test that theory," Bellamy shot down her plan.

"Why not?"

"One, because we need you. If they did kill you for not obeying, then we could end up with a lot of pregnant girls here and no doctor. And two, if they didn't kill you, it wouldn't mean that they wouldn't kill anyone else who also refused to obey."

"Because I'm the princess," Clarke said caustically.

"Yes. Exactly. Clarke, look at it this way. If they think you're on board with their bullshit, if they trust you, they might slip up and reveal something important. Something we can use," Bellamy argued.

Clarke saw the logic in his reasoning, but shook her head, her eyes filled with dread. "No, I can't, I can't just…"

Bellamy took in her panic with some surprise. Clarke was usually so cool headed. "What's wrong, Princess? Don't tell me you've never…"

Raven looked down, flashes of Finn and Clarke together easily conjured up by her imagination.

"Of course not," Clarke flushed, looking down, not wanting to catch even a glimpse of Raven, given the topic. "I mean, of course I have, just… it's not… I just…"

"It's OK, Clarke," Bellamy said softly, his voice unusually compassionate.

Octavia looked from Clarke to Raven to her brother. She still wasn't happy with Clarke's involvement in Lincoln's torture, but since the Ark had issued their outlandish edict, Clarke had stepped up to try to figure out a way out of it. She'd also acted early on to protect the younger girls in camp from any unwanted male attention, gathering them to sleep in one tent together, and convincing one of Bellamy's guards to keep an eye out for them when Clarke wasn't around. Clarke had pushed herself to the edge of exhaustion, treating the myriad of injuries that The 100 seemed to collect while exploring the forest for edible and medicinal plants.

"So we need to find Clarke a fake lover in camp, shouldn't be too hard," Octavia cut in, shrugging, disregarding the much of the camp had paired up already in real or fake pairs, and no one had made a move on Clarke (or Octavia) because everyone was afraid of Bellamy's reaction. Their two leaders were close and no one understood when or how it had happened, but the fact that they'd returned from an overnight trip outside of camp with a united front that had held since then had set tongues wagging.

"You're hot," she said to the blonde girl receiving a nonplussed look in return. "Too bad the only guys here you've really gotten to know are Finn, Bellamy, Jasper and Monty," Octavia continued, offering her blunt opinion easily. "And I think Jasper and Monty would be horrified with the whole idea of 'faking' it with you, and Finn's with Raven, so that leaves Bellamy."

Octavia's conclusion drew incredulous looks from both her brother and Clarke, but Raven seemed to consider the idea. "He doesn't have a wristband, so they wouldn't be able to monitor him, so you could just... ya' know," Raven said, her eyes on Clarke.

"We know," Octavia said dryly.

Clarke finally met Bellamy's eyes, hers full of embarrassment, his not expressing any emotion.

As the silence stretched, Octavia's gaze sharpened on her brother. She'd seen him watching Clarke with a curiously tender expression when the other girl wasn't paying attention, and she knew he'd stopped sleeping around since Clark had explained that the birth control included in the women's rations on the Ark would have started to lose effectiveness after a few weeks, so he couldn't be worried about a fake hookup with Clarke effecting his actual booty calls.

"Or not. OK, who are some likely candidates?" Octavia said happily, smiling mockingly at her brother.

"For what?" Raven asked.

"Candidates to be Clarke's fake, or not so fake, lover," Octavia said with a taunting edge to her words. The blush on Clarke's cheeks grew as Octavia continued. "Jones is nice enough. Miller can be sweet when he's not being a jackass. There aren't many blondes around, so she and Drew could hook up, make some adorable blonde babies. Stewart Lennox could serve in that capacity too."

"The whole point of this is that there won't be babies," Bellamy said severely.

"No unwanted babies," Clarke said, thinking of the medicinal plants she and Monty were giving to the girls in camp who were having sex but didn't want to get pregnant, and the few girls who had decided to roll the dice.

"Fine," Bellamy agreed, ignoring Clarke's stunned expression. "I'll play the role. Next problem. Clarke just basically told them to go screw themselves-"

"Yeah, she did," Octavia said proudly.

"How do we convince them that she suddenly changed her mind?" Bellamy asked.

"Monty and I are getting closer to figuring out how to get one of those wristbands off," Raven said. "Someone 'dies," she said, motioning air quotes. "Clarke mourns, then embraces life," she finished sarcastically.

"Will they buy it?" Bellamy inquired doubtfully.

"Not likely," Clarke said.

"A love story," Monty said coming down the ladder from the higher levels of the drop ship, obviously having overheard the conversation.

Octavia clapped her hands excitedly. "Clarke didn't want to pick a random baby daddy, because she's got the hots for Bells."

"Add in a sad death and some mourning," Raven said.

"Maybe some of my moonshine," Monty offered.

"And Clarke is suddenly getting busy and in compliance with the baby Nazis," Octavia finished the tall tale gleefully.

Clarke licked her suddenly dry lips nervously, shooting Bellamy a look of trepidation. "That… might do it."

"They already know that you two are co-leaders," Octavia said. "Your partnership just… deepened."

"I would have loved to see Jaha's face when he realized Bellamy Blake was in charge down here," Raven muttered.

Clarke's eyes met Bellamy's. Jaha hadn't seemed too surprised when she'd told him, but the rest of the council had been in and uproar. Clarke had expected them to demand that Bellamy be stripped of his position, but Jaha had said he had confidence in Bellamy's abilities to protect The 100 as long as Clarke was involved in any and all decisions.

Clarke studied Bellamy's face for some clue as to why he was helping her, but couldn't find any clues there.

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><p>Words 3513<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Two by Two**

_Set after S01E08 - Day Trip_

_Raven has restored communication with the Ark. Finn is healing, Bellamy and Clark have made the trip to the FEMA bunker in Washington DC. Assessing the situation on the ground and in space, Jaha and the council decide to remain in space until Spring (necessitating the culling of hundreds more people) and order The 100 to pair up and start repopulating the Earth._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

-The 100—

A few days later the camp population dropped by one. One of the boys had been stung by a bee and gone into anaphylactic shock. With no medicine and no tubing to protect his airway, Clarke could only watch with horror as he started to asphyxiate.

Bellamy brought Monty and Raven in and receiving the sign from Clarke that there was no chance to save the boy, the two techies had quickly disabled the wristband. Delivering an electric shock to the shackle, they'd popped the latch and pulled the band carefully from the boy's limp wrist.

"Did it work?" Bellamy asked roughly.

"The poison capsule… is still intact. It worked," Monty said quietly, looking at the boy who was taking his last labored breaths.

"Now what?" Raven asked.

"Now we start taking off wristbands. Slowly. We can't take them all off at once, so we'll come up with stories… There are plenty of ways to die here," Clarke said resolutely, her eyes haunted.

"The younger girls first," Bellamy ordered. "Say they were bathing together in the river and got caught in the radiation fog," he detailed his plan. "Can we fake the physical distress?"

"Not easily," Clarke said. "Pain from the fog burns would result in adrenalin, irregular heart rate, increased blood pressure in response to the pain, then decreased as the body began shutting down." Her eyes met Bellamy's. "A cut would be too fast, too sharp, not sustained enough."

Bellamy remembered Murphy's cruelty early on, when they'd been trying to take off their wristbands, oblivious to the threat therein. He'd held a girl over the fire, saying that if they couldn't convince the Ark they were dead, they could at least send the message that life on Earth was not easy. "We could burn them," Bellamy said gruffly, the idea of hurting children abhorrent, but still preferable to the alternatives.

Raven looked horrified, Monty no less so, but Clarke nodded her head, dismayed, but agreeing that it could work. "We'd have to get the bracelets off fast, and we'll need to find aloe and some other plants to treat the burns."

"Then do it," Bellamy ordered, walking away abruptly.

"And if they don't want to?" Raven called.

Bellamy turned and met Clarke's eyes and nodded, before disappearing from view. "If they don't want to, they can opt out, and we offer the chance to the next youngest girl."

-The 100—

Clarke's next report to the Council was dominated by the story of how they'd lost four more of The 100. "We have some basic medicine here, mostly from plants and some tree barks, but nothing that can treat allergic reactions on that scale or heal radiation burns," Clarke said stoically. "If you could send a drop ship with supplies…" she suggested, knowing they wouldn't.

"That's not an option. These deaths are tragic, but not unexpected," Jaha said chillingly. "Tell us about the Grounders. Have you found their camp yet? Do you have any idea of their numbers?"

"No…"

Once again, Jaha dismissed the other council members except for Abby. "Are there any pregnancies to report?"

"Not yet," Clarke said. "Without hormonal tests or an ultrasound, it will take several weeks after conception for me to diagnose pregnancy," Clarke said. "Two girls report having missed their menses this month, but that is inconclusive."

"Clarke's right, the stress of being on the ground, lack of food, and the hormonal adjustment of coming off the birth control could all disrupt regular female cycles," Abby concurred. Abby went on to speak about the early symptoms of pregnancy that Clarke should watch for. Finishing, she looked at Jaha, who nodded at her then looked at the camera, facing Clarke again.

"Clarke, we were monitoring your vitals, and have some questions," Abby said gently.

Clarke didn't have to fake a blush, the absurdity and invasion of privacy was enough. Following the most recent death, she'd gotten buzzed on Monty's moonshine and went to her tent alone. Her gaze automatically went to Bellamy where he stood off camera, watching and listening, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

"You…"

"Had sex. Yes. Isn't that what you wanted?" Clarke said harshly, making Abby look away.

"Yes, it is, but the question remains of who you were with, Clarke," Jaha said. "According to Jackson, there were no corresponding vitals."

Clarke took a deep breath and bit the bullet. "That's because I was with Bellamy. And he doesn't have a wristband."

"Bellamy," Jaha repeated, not looking terribly surprised. "Bellamy Blake. I could see that you had a connection with him Clarke, when the three of us spoke. But I didn't imagine this."

"You have to pick a new partner," Abby said.

Clarke frowned, not having expected that. As far as she could tell, Bellamy was a prime physical specimen, and smart too. If they were just interested in increasing the population, he was as good a candidate as anyone else.

"No."

"You have to pick a new partner," Abby repeated in her best 'I am your mother and I know what's best for you' tone.

"No."

"Clarke, raising a baby will be difficult enough without-"

"Abby," Jaha cut her off.

"Without… what?" Clarke asked with a frown.

"Bellamy… he won't make a good father," Abby said.

"He's the only one of us who has any experience raising a child, so I don't see where you're-" Clarke trailed off seeing the look of sorrow on her mother's face. Again her eyes went to Bellamy who had stepped forward when the conversation turned to him.

Clarke's alarm was clear on her face, her eyes wide, mouth slightly parted.

"Tell me you'll pick a new partner, Clarke," Abby begged, not wanting her daughter to suffer any more than she already had.

"It's not that simple," Clarke said hoarsely. They were going to kill Bellamy when they arrived. Abby didn't want Clarke to raise a child without its father.

"It is," Jaha disagreed.

"No," Clarke said just as Bellamy stepped into the camera's view, his hand landing heavily on Clarke's shoulder.

"You're in space and we're on the ground, you're not in charge here, I am. And Clarke is mine," Bellamy said in a tone that would give anyone pause. He stared down into Clarke's eyes, silently ordering her to go along with his play. His hand moved from her shoulder to her neck, cupping her head and tilting her face up for a hard kiss.

The room and the monitor was silent as Bellamy leaned over Clarke, his mouth moving on hers without hesitation. They were supposed to be a couple, and it wasn't his way to be tentative. Bellamy committed fully and unflinchingly to his plans, including the current plan that had him and Clarke pretending to be a couple.

"I was under the impression that you two worked together to lead The 100," Jaha said calmly once Bellamy had ended the kiss, standing up straight again, his hand remaining on Clarke's neck in a blatantly possessive move.

"We do, but... it's true, Bellamy is in charge here, and…" Clarke floundered, still stunned that he'd kissed her without warning. She forced her face into a neutral expression and slid her arm around his waist, leaning into his side.

"And anyone who tries to take Clarke from me would not be able to fulfill your 'orders' with her or anyone else, so unless you want your breed stock population to suddenly decrease, I would recommend that you stop interfering. Clarke has agreed to go along with your plan to have a child, but she is mine and any child she has will also be mine," Bellamy declared harshly. "This conversation is over."

Bellamy flipped the switch to end the feed, and faced Clarke. "What was that about?"

"We need to get Octavia's bracelet off now. Right now," Clarke commanded, springing out of her chair. "Find her; I'll get Monty and Raven."

"It's still too risky," he said, catching her elbow in his hand to stop her from running off. "Tell me what that was."

"They're going to kill you. When they get here. They were trying to spare me from…"

Bellamy didn't react. Not with fear or anger, and Clarke realized he must have never really believed they would let him live. "Calm down, it's OK," he said, his mind working the problem. "They won't kill Octavia. Not yet."

"They will, you just challenged them openly, told them they're not as in charge as they thought-"

"They won't," he said calmly. "They need her to control me. We have time. If she disappeared from their monitors now, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out we took it off."

"Bellamy…" Clarke said, her voice full of anguish. Bellamy had only agreed to pretend to be her sex partner to save her, now that act of kindness had put his sister in danger.

-The 100-

The next day, Monty was working on building walkie-talkies at the communications desk set up just outside of Clarke's med bay on the drop ship. Clarke was reading a book on emergency medical treatments that they had found in the rubble of a home in Berryville. Unfortunately, while Clarke had learned a lot from watching her mother while growing up, the technology that Arc doctors used just wasn't available, so Clarke was frantically trying to figure out how to use what they had and what items they needed to fabricate or find.

Monty looked up, staring at the comms system as if perplexed then he suddenly jumped up and moved to Clarke quickly. "It's a beautiful day outside, we should get some air," he said with an unusual intensity in his voice and expression.

Clarke looked at him curiously. "I'm-"

"Blue skies, some soft looking white clouds, it's really beautiful, Clarke, and since you could be pregnant you should probably try to get some daily exercise and fresh air."

Clarke frowned, but stood up and followed Monty outside.

"What was that about?" she questioned once Monty had stopped several yards outside of the drop ship.

"The comms link to the Ark is open."

"What? No, it's not; we turned it off last night after the last report."

"It's on. Trust me. Somehow they figured out how to hack the signal."

"So they can see and hear everything that is happening in there?" Clarke said in alarm.

"Yeah, I mean it could only be video or sound, I'd have to check, but the drop ship was designed to send data back to them, mostly environmental, but also communications and they would have designed it to have control of it through the satellite up-link."

"They're spying on us," Clarke said slowly. "Can you turn it off?"

"Yeah, probably. When they're out of orbit above us, it goes dark, I could hack in then, not that I'd have much time, maybe 30 minutes," he mused, doing the mental math.

-The 100—

After posting a guard on the drop ship to make sure no one accidentally appeared on camera and let the Ark in on anything they weren't supposed to know, Clarke and Monty relayed the information to the group that had become a new sort of council: Bellamy, Raven, Finn, and Miller (as Bellamy's second in command).

"So we can cut the feed, now, or wait until the storm the Ark is tracking over the Atlantic comes ashore in a few days," Monty said.

"No, don't try to stop the feed, not yet. They obviously don't trust us, don't trust what Clarke has been telling them, they also don't know that we know they're watching, so we use it," Bellamy said, his eyes on Clarke. No one else knew about the complication of their ruse, but he had no doubt that the new tactic from the Ark was a response to their continued resistance.

"Parade couples, patients, happy or worried girls in front of the camera?" Clarke asked.

"Exactly."

"It's not a bad plan," Finn mused.

-The 100-

Later that night after Clarke had counseled an actual couple, pretending to be happy about the prospect of having a baby for the benefit of the camera, Bellamy found her sorting plants in her med bay. Seeing the small blue light that indicated the feed was live, he approached her like a lover would, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, his larger form hiding that she stiffened in his arms before forcing herself to relax.

"What are you doing?" she said softly, turning around to face him, keeping a loving smile on her face for the benefit of the camera.

"We need to talk," Bellamy said quietly, his mouth brushing her ear making it look as if he was kissing her neck or whispering sweet nothings to her as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms, as if they were used to touching each other.

"Here?"

He shook his head, pulling back from her and speaking at a normal volume, but with a tone that left no doubt what his request really meant. "Meet me in my tent in five minutes," he said causing her to shiver involuntarily. Bellamy smirked at her, his face turned away from the camera, leaving her to sell it to the Ark with another loving smile.

Walking into Bellamy's tent without announcing herself, Clarke put her hands on her hips in annoyance. "Next time you plan to put on a show for the Ark, give me a heads up, would you?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing," he said, facing her. "Random couples and anxious girls won't be enough to convince Jaha that we're obeying his orders. You and I need to sell it. We're the biggest threat to them. If they think we're going along with it, even if we have our own reasons, then their suspicions might fade."

"Our own reasons?"

"Young love. Passionate, crazy, impetuous, intemperate. We need to make it look like our being together is not just real, but is something neither of us could avoid."

"Love, not politics," Clarke murmured. Bellamy nodded his head, not surprised that Clarke understood. "How?"

"Well, I pretty much acted like a raging jackass, saying you were mine, so we could build on that. Have some guy in there with you, I come in, toss him out and..." he shrugged.

"It's the 'and' that worries me."

"We need them to trust you, Clarke. If they're suspicious because of your sex life or lack or sex life, or you choosing me, then we can nip that in the bud right now." Clarke stared at him, discomfort rather than fear or disgust showing in her eyes. "We don't have to have sex-"

"On camera, essentially in front of my mother, her staff and the council? Thanks," she said darkly.

"So we'll make out, then rush off as if we can't control ourselves," he said with forced lightness.

"I guess I should go get started now, right, Honeybunches? After your little display?" she asked, her expression one of sturdy resolve.

"Why don't we take the night off, we'll put together a peep show tomorrow. Have a seat," he offered, waving to his bed.

Clarke was surprised, she and Bellamy were certainly partners, friends, co-conspirators, but they hadn't really hung out casually before. They'd spent time together, but always on a task or with some purpose in mind. Clarke looked at his bed, then at him, and smiled. "OK," she agreed, dropping down into one of two of the drop ship seats that had been hauled into his tent.

"We need to come up with a way to get Octavia's wristband off," she said.

"No work, not tonight, Princess. Don't you ever relax?"

"It's your sister, Bellamy, they could –"

"I've got it under control," he said with a smile. "Trust me."

"I do," she said, but he could see she still wanted to know. Her thirst for knowledge was an asset, as was her analytical mind and compassion, so he shared his plan with her.

"We can't risk taking it off, but Monty thinks he can disable the poison, even drain it," he said, liking that this time Clarke's smile was one of unrestrained happiness as relief flowed through her at his words.

"Then they'd think they had control, but they wouldn't…" Her mind raced as the implications became clear. Without the poison they could disable and remove each wristband without worrying that the Ark would catch on and kill one or several of them to make their point.

She smiled, her whole face lighting up as the possibility of good news, a loosening of the noose around their collective necks. Bellamy smiled back, more sedate than hers, but a smile still. Clarke's thoughts shifted from the group, politics and battle to the simple pleasure of having someone she could count on, someone she could lean on and share the burden with.

-The 100-

The next evening, Clarke was working in the drop ship's med bay alone, by design, when Miller arrived with a cut on his arm.

"Hey Clarke, do you think you could spare some of that seaweed?"

Clarke rushed over to Miller, frowning at the very real injury, having thought the injury would be happenstance or faked, but the cut was real, shallow and clean, but real nonetheless.

"Of course, sit here," she instructed, indicating the metal examining table that had be cut and crafted from an interior wall of the drop ship. Clarke hurried around, gathering the necessary medical supplies, before returning to Miller's side. She knew they were supposed to flirt, and that Bellamy would come in to find them and break it up, but Clarke wasn't sure how to start. Flirting wasn't exactly her specialty.

"I have to wash it out first," she said, unnecessarily, since she'd patched up Miller more than once before. She poured water over the cut slowly, looking up with startled eyes when Miller captured one of her hands in his.

"You have such small, delicate hands. Yet you're so capable," he said, stroking his fingers against her pale palm, as he looked up at her with dark gleaming eyes.

Clarke blinked at him, stupefied. Then he winked at her and her brain moved back into gear. "I guess what they say is true, size doesn't matter," she said archly with a smile.

Miller smirked at her. "You wouldn't be saying that if you really knew me."

She arched one eyebrow, smiling in earnest. "Hmm," she demurred. She bent over his arm to inspect it closer than the cut needed. With her face hidden from the camera, she spoke freely. "Did Bellamy order you to do this?"

Miller grinned, running a strand of her hair between his fingers for the benefit of the Ark's spies. "We drew straws."

"You must be really unlucky," she said quietly while applying the seaweed salve to his cut.

"It's not so bad," he said, looking down her shirt with another smirk. Clarke followed his gaze and pushed his head away, laughing lightly. Miller's eyes moved to the slight jiggle of her breasts before looking away quickly. He needed to play his part, but not so well that Bellamy took exception with him. Or Clarke. He frowned and realized he really was unlucky to have been selected for the job.

Bellamy stood behind the fabric screen that separated the med bay from the rest of the bottom floor of the drop ship watching as Miller flirted with Clarke and Clarke laughed and smiled at his advances. His impulse was to rush in right then, kicking Miller out instantly, but since he'd been the one to nominate his friend, his loyal second in command, for the job, he tried to reason with himself that he should at least let Clarke finish patching him up first.

His jaw tightened and he counted to ten silently as Clarke tied a bandage around Miller's forearm and started on a second, Miller continuing the charade, and pleasing Clarke at the same time if her reaction was anything to go by. Bellamy counted to ten a second time, wondering why it bothered him to see Clarke's rare smiles go to someone besides him. When Miller reached out to twirl another strand of Clarke's hair around his finger, Bellamy abruptly stopped at eight and rushed in.

"Get the fuck out, and you'd better stay out of my sight for a good few days," he said pointing menacingly at Miller.

"I wasn't-" Miller protested.

"Out!" Bellowed Bellamy, pushing his body between Clarke and Miller. Miller needed no further encouragement and fled quickly, not turning back to see what the next act held, because if looking down Clarke's shirt was enough to make Bellamy's eyes promise painful retribution, then watching what he was fairly sure was going to happen next would likely get him hung from a tree for a week.

"What's your problem?" Clark shouted at Bellamy, arguing with him a comfortable rhythm even if the topic was new and contrived.

"My problem?" Bellamy seethed, getting her in her personal space. "He was flirting with you!"

"He wasn't, but so what if he was. He was hurt, we were joking around."

"Are you saying you flirt with every guy who comes in here?"

"And the girls too," she taunted him. Bellamy paused, momentarily losing the thread of the argument, the point of the whole act and she considered Clarke with another girl. "Oh my god, you're such a pig," she said, slapping his arm after correctly discerning his thoughts.

She turned away from him but he stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck in a series of soft kisses. "You know I think you're hot, Princess, can I help it if the idea of you and another girl is a turn on?" His voice was rumbling in her ear, his mouth leaving a moist trail down her neck and now across her collar bone, his hands were like two live wires touching her stomach, heating her up and making her nerve endings tremble in anticipation. "Too bad I'm not the type to share," he growled.

Clarke pulled away from him, stepping back in equal parts for show and because she needed to remember that it was a show. "Oh really? I seem to remember –"

He grinned and reeled her back in, until their chests were pressed together tightly. "That was before you, Princess, just a bit of fun." He kissed her forehead, then her cheeks then lifted both her hands and pressed a kiss to each of her palms. "If I remember correctly, you back then you wouldn't give me the time of day, which is just selfish, since you have the only watch down here," he said in a tone that made her very aware of just how easy it had been for him to get more than one girl into his bed. He kissed her wrist under the watch then the other next to her wristband before looking into her eyes. "Now, I would cut off both hands of anyone who dared to touch you, Princess, guy or girl. You're mine."

Bellamy wasn't immune to the press of her body against his, or the wide vulnerable look in her eyes, or the fact that her mouth was slightly parted, invitingly parted, he thought, but he tried to remember that this was an act. A performance for the Ark's watchful eyes.

But as he kissed her, walking her backwards towards the table the served as her exam table and lifting her up so she was sitting on it, her legs automatically widening and wrapping around him, pulling him closer the reality of Clarke in his arms, her tongue in his mouth, her breasts flattened against his chest blotted out the why and how of the moment.

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><p>Words 4058<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Two by Two**

**Set after S01E08 - Day Trip**

_Raven has restored communication with the Ark. Finn is healing, Bellamy and Clark have made the trip to the FEMA bunker in Washington DC. Assessing the situation on the ground and in space, Jaha and the council decide to remain in space until Spring (necessitating the culling of hundreds more people) and order The 100 to pair up and start repopulating the Earth._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Clarke exited the drop ship looking more than a little dazed and flushed. She couldn't shake the feeling that their little ruse had changed her, had changed whatever relationship she and Bellamy had, and therefore had changed things for the camp. But outside, dozens of teens laughed and talked around the campfire like any other night since they'd been on the ground.

"Clarke," Bellamy said roughly, drawing her gaze as he exited the drop ship after her, his cheeks flushed, but otherwise looking pretty much like he always did.

She lifted her chin and looked at him, noting that he wasn't meeting her eyes, his gaze focused on his feet, his hands flexing restlessly. She couldn't help the burst of heat that started in her belly and could only hope that she wasn't blushing.

"It's OK, Bellamy," she said steadily.

He glanced up at her, disbelief etched on his face. "Is it?"

She swallowed hard, but tried to feign nonchalance. "Of course, it's what we agreed to."

He nodded then looked to the side, his eyes automatically looking for and finding the guards on their elevated platforms. "If you're sure. 'Cause we could talk about it. If you wanted." His gaze suddenly swept back to hers, startling her with the intensity she found there. "Come to my tent if you want to."

"To talk," she said, but it sounded like a question, especially since it was accompanied by a quizzical expression. He shrugged one shoulder and Clarke forced a smile. "OK."

Her answer was as ambiguous as his offer, but they left it unsaid between them, neither ready to tip the scales that far. Clarke watched as he walked away from her, lifting his head and straightening his back and shoulders, throwing off whatever tension had resulted from the unintended intimacy they'd just created between themselves and putting on a show for the camp: Bellamy Blake their strong, confident leader who was plotting their course to freedom despite all the challenges that threatened them. Arrogant, tough, unflinching, and nearly unfeeling.

That was what many in camp still thought about him. It was what Clarke had once thought. If she still thought him so cold, heartless and power hungry it would be easier to shrug off what had just happened, but she knew better now. She watched as he approached Miller, the two boys shaking hands, smoothing over any tension between them.

Smiling, Miller moved with Bellamy over to a group of off duty guards, who were shaping knives and spearheads from various bits of metal, glass and rock. Bellamy picked up one knife, tossing it up lightly before catching it again by the blade, testing its weight and balance. He nodded in approval, causing Dell to flush with pride. Bellamy nodded for Drew to step aside and tossed the knife with surprising accuracy into a target they'd pinned to the fence.

Clarke's gaze focused on his hands, strong and deadly, but he was obviously capable of being gentle too.

He'd easily lifted her up onto the table, his grip on her hips firm, his muscled thighs pressing her legs apart. She hadn't been acting when she'd wrapped her legs around his waist, their mouths melded together. He'd kissed her before, but then she'd been reeling from the threat to Bellamy's life and unable to forget their audience. She'd retained only broken impressions. His taste, how his lips managed to be both firm and soft, the heat of his hand on her neck, now easily she'd responded to his seeking tongue. The ark of electricity that ran down her spine.

This time had been different. They'd been alone. And it had been planned. A show for the Ark. That was how it started, but Clarke knew it wasn't how it ended.

She'd known she was losing the thread of the performance as soon as he'd kissed her, and she couldn't blame him for it. She had been the one who'd slipped her hands under Bellamy's shirt, finding firmly muscled flesh. It had been her who had pressed against him, rubbing her chest against his, tightening her legs around him, as if she was trying to merge their bodies into one.

He'd responded, his hands tightening on her hips, pulling her impossibly closer, grinding his pelvis against hers, erasing any doubt that she had the he might be unaffected. Clarke's hands had run up and down his back, appreciating the broadness of his shoulders and the solid muscle that had helped make him the dominant male in camp. He'd reciprocated, his hands slipping under her shirt, kneading her back before moving around to the front, shifting upwards so he was cupping her breasts.

The heat of his hands, the feel of his calloused fingers on her sensitive skin had jolted her, sending a shock through her system, jump starting her brain. She'd pulled her mouth from his with a gasp, even as she arched into his touch, her nipples pebbling under his deft fingers.

Gasping for air, her eyes had met his, read the question there. Did she want him to stop? She could have said yes. She probably should have said yes. They could have slipped away, supposedly to his tent, but really separately, leaving her to perform the final act alone. That had been the plan.

If she'd seen arrogance or smug pride in his eyes, she might have stuck with the plan, but once again vulnerable Bellamy was on display, and Clarke already knew she had a weakness for him when he showed any real emotion besides anger.

As a rule, Clarke tried not to act on impulse. Impulse had led to Charlotte's death. Impulse had led to her taking her flirtation with Finn farther than it should have gone.

But she hadn't hesitated, smiling softly at Bellamy, she'd cupped his face in her hands, feeling the smoothness of his cheeks in juxtaposition to the roughness of his jaw.

Clarke had been the one who pressed her lips to his again, opening her mouth to him as she hitched her legs tighter around his waist. Maybe he was the one who had started stripping off clothing, his shirt and then hers, followed by her bra, leaving them skin to skin, but Clarke didn't blame him. Nor did she regret it. Maybe she would, maybe facing him in the cold light of day she would burn with regret, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but as she stood in the heat of the campfire, lost in her own thoughts, she couldn't regret it.

She hadn't stopped him, hadn't wanted to, not even when his hands had tugged at the button on her pants, his calloused hand drawing a startled gasp from her as he'd touched her intimately.

Clarke was drawn from her thoughts, feeling someone watching her. She turned her head to see that the crowd had thinned substantially, letting her see Bellamy clearly as he walked towards his tent, his gaze locked on her.

-The 100-

The next morning, Clarke approached Bellamy first thing, forcing herself to act normally, inquiring about the hunting trip scheduled for that day. She wanted to go out to gather some more edible plants, but only if a few guards who she trusted could accompany her, Monty, Octavia and a few others who had shown the skill of identifying beneficial plants.

"Can I take Miller?"

"Miller has to stay in camp. You can have Liza," he countered, not looking the least bit uncomfortable talking to her. Though she supposed he had a lot more experience with one night stand type situations. Not that they'd had sex, just gotten close. It was a distinction that Clarke was trying to convince herself was important.

"No thanks. Liza looks at me like she'd like to strangle me. Slowly."

He frowned. "Derek and Drew."

Clarke sighed. "They don't listen. Not just not to me, not to anyone."

"They listen to me."

"Because you might punch them if they don't. I don't really have that brand of persuasion," she said while smiling. "Give me Harper-"

"No."

"Why?" she asked tiredly. She hadn't slept well, unable to let go of the tension that had filled her from the moment she heard the Ark's orders that they procreate, exacerbated by her anxiety that the previous night might have made things between her and Bellamy difficult.

"One, because she's a good tracker and hunter, and two, because she sucks at hand to hand," he stated flatly. "Jones and Drew, that's my final offer."

"I accept."

Bellamy nodded and walked away from her, making it only a few steps before she started after him. "Bellamy." He stopped, turning his head to watch her approach, his back straight, his expression impassive. "You'll be back by nightfall?"

"Depends on how far we have to go to catch something," he dismissed her concern with practicality.

"Don't... don't go too far. You're needed here."

His eyes blazed to life and he stepped closer to her, crowding her personal space. "You sound like you mean that."

"I do," Clarke said clearly, standing her ground. She was used to standing firm in the face of Bellamy's aggression, but she wasn't used to the hum of electricity between them, the pulse of her reaction to him warming her body in ways she didn't want to broadcast to him or the camp.

He dipped his head so his mouth was mere inches from hers when he spoke. "I'll be back, Princess. This camp is my home, and I don't walk away from the things that are mine."

A jolt of sensation skittered down her back, raising goosebumps all over her body. His dark eyes bored into hers and the rest of camp, bustling with morning duties, fell away, leaving just the two of them. The sound of Raven's strident voice chastising some poor teen who'd touched her tools and earned her ire broke the spell.

"I'll see you tonight, Clarke."

She blinked stupidly at him. "Tonight."

-The 100-

True to his word, Bellamy returned that night, but Clarke wasn't waiting for him, open armed or otherwise. Instead she was busy at work aligning a badly broken leg and attempting The 100's first cast with sticks, birch bark and sap. He checked in on her, offered his moral support and returned to the campfire for a late dinner with the rest of the hunting party.

The next morning, Clark awoke feeling exhausted both mentally and physically. While the previous day, she'd wanted to approach Bellamy first thing and make sure that there wasn't an opportunity for tension to build a wall between them, now Clark was of the opposite mind. She wanted to put some space between them and let her emotions settle.

Addressing the elephant in the room had been the right thing for the camp, but giving herself some space to breathe was what she needed for herself. She told herself it was because getting involved with Bellamy in a romantic or sexual relationship would jeopardize their working relationship, and pretended not to notice the ache in her chest that had started when she'd seen him at the campfire the previous night surrounded by three clearly eager girls.

Not that she blamed them, Bellamy was attractive, clearly the alpha male in their camp, strong and sexy. All of which had factored into her indecision on whether to go to his tent the night he'd asked her or not. Clarke's natural reserve and continued confusion over what Bellamy wanted from her and what he was offering, and even what she wanted and what she had to offer had stopped her. She'd second guessed her decision, but now she was fairly certain she'd made the right choice.

-The 100-

The next morning dawned a new day, and determined to avoid any personal interactions with Bellamy, Clarke busied herself with her patient, a boy named Justin Giles until it was almost time for the hunting party to leave.

Exiting the drop ship Clarke saw Miller gathering the hunters, checking their supplies, when Bellamy strode up to the group a backpack over his shoulder and his usual weapons with him.

"Miller, change of plans, I'm taking lead, you need to stay in camp," Bellamy declared.

Miller hesitated, his confused gaze going from Bellamy to Clarke with dawning understanding. "Yeah, alright."

Clarke hurried towards them, a frown marring her pretty face. "Bellamy I thought you were going to oversee the building today?" They'd decided that tents weren't going to work for the winter, and had milled lumber and gathered stone from the surrounding forest in preparation for constructing their first actual building.

"Jones can handle it," Bellamy said shortly, his gaze glancing over her dismissively.

"But we need to talk about the wristbands-"

"That can wait, Raven and Monty aren't ready," he countered.

"But-"

"Look, Princess, just stay in camp and off the radio, nothing here can't wait for 24 hours," Bellamy said before turning abruptly and leaving camp, the hunting party scrambling to fall in line behind him.

Miller moved closer to Clarke watching her watch Bellamy's retreat, and Miller couldn't think of it as anything else. Whatever had happened between Bellamy and Clarke two nights before had clearly caused a problem between their two leaders. Bellamy had been watching Clarke all morning, but anytime he'd looked like he was going to approach her, she'd disappeared or occupied herself with someone or something else. Yet when Bellamy had decided to get out of camp, Clarke had clearly not wanted him to go. Miller shook his head, hoping that they figured it out, and hoping more fervently that he never fell victim to feelings that made sane people act irrationally.

"He'll be alright, Clarke," Miller reassured her.

"I know."

-The 100-

Clarke knew she was being ridiculous. She'd avoided Bellamy all morning, but once he was gone, she couldn't help but want him back. Clarke didn't have much faith in her ability to understand people and relationships, she was better with facts than emotions, but she knew that Bellamy had wanted to talk to her. Everywhere she'd turned that morning, he'd been there. Waiting. Watching.

She'd wanted to avoid him, and she had. They both had more responsibilities in camp than they could actually manage on a day to day basis, so she hadn't even had to manufacture anything, she'd just prioritized everything else as more important than talking to him.

She should be grateful he'd gone on the hunting trip. It gave her the space she wanted. But her logic didn't dispel the sense of unease that had hovered over her since he'd been gone.

-The 100-

The hunting party came back a few hours after the sun had sank behind the mountains, and the anxiety that had been Clarke's constant companion that day faded as they all appeared healthy- if dirty and tired after a successful hunt. Of the eight people who went out, six came back carrying antelope, while Harper carried smaller game in her rucksack and Del was acting as the unencumbered armed guard.

The teens cheered at the sight, happy for fresh food and preferring meat, despite the fact they they'd mostly grown up vegetarian and despite Clarke's warnings that they needed to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables while they could.

Clarke stood slightly back from the rest, a stiff breeze lifting her hair and causing her to cross her arms over her chest in an effort to conserve warmth. The storm the Ark had been tracking was due to arrive that night with wind and rain, but hopefully no major temperature drops since they only had one wood structure built and it would only sleep 30- and that was if they all got cozy.

Clarke waited to see if Bellamy would come to her, but when he didn't she decided to step up and approach him. Grabbing a piece of meat as well as a cup of bland veggie soup, Clarke walked up to the group surrounding Bellamy and waited.

Eventually the teens moved away, leaving their two leaders with a modicum of privacy. "Your hunters did well today," Clarke complimented.

"Not well enough. There were hundreds of antelope, we caught six. Not a great success ratio," he said roughly. "Things were OK here?"

"Yeah, all quiet on the home front. Monty and Raven figured out the drill," she said with a smile seeing Bellamy's interest perk up. "And the first building is finished."

"I saw. It won't be enough," he said pessimistically. "And we'll need to divert the builders to smoke house tomorrow so we can preserve the antelope we caught today, and hopefully the ones we catch tomorrow."

Clarke frowned, glancing up at the dark clouds, no moon shining through that night. "You're planning on going out tomorrow? But the storm-"

"I'll only take a few people with me. Ones who won't whine the whole time about being wet and cold."

Clarke looked like she wanted to argue, but she let it go. They needed the meat, needed as much food as they could possibly get and store before the first snowfall. "We found some bee hives yesterday, we're going out again as soon as it's dry to try to harvest some of the honey comb. In the spring we should try to start our own hives, plant some crops, instead of relying on scavenging alone."

Bellamy grunted in response, and Clarke figured she had lost his attention. Monty and I were talking about sending a small team west after the snow thaws. The salt we got from the FEMA bunker will hold us for this winter, but-"

"We'll have plenty of time to plan once we're holed up inside from the cold, Princess. For right now, let's focus on surviving this winter."

Clarke looked at him, seeing that his expression was hard, a faraway look in his eyes. "We disabled Octavia's wristband today."

Bellamy's eyes snapped to her. "What?!"

"Monty and Raven did his and a few others, and when nothing bad happened, we did Octavia's. We saved the poison if you're interested."

"You should have waited for me," he said angrily, glaring down at Clarke.

"We could have, but you being there would have only made the situation more stressful for everyone," she stated flatly.

"She's my sister-" he said heatedly, clearing gearing up for a fight.

"Exactly. And now she's safe. Be happy," she said tightly, glaring back at him.

Bellamy stormed off, presumably to find Octavia, but Clarke didn't follow. She had no idea what to expect from Bellamy on a moment to moment basis anymore and that very uncertainty was another reason for her keeping things platonic and professional with Bellamy. They had to work together, and if one physical encounter was enough to derail their communication then an actual relationship where their emotions might become involved had every indication of being a disaster.

-The 100-

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